Renewable Energy in Oregon

I think Oregon is on the verge of adopting a law that will allow Oregonians to put solar panels on their rooftops and sell all of the electricity they generate to their local utility at a fair price. I’ve been in Salem, Oregon several times over the past few months – witnessing and participating in “sausage making.”

The Oregon House of Representatives passed HB 3039 to the Senate with a 47-11 vote. The current version of the bill includes many features — some of which are good and some that are not so good. The bill contains a pilot project for distributed solar generation, which means individuals can generate electricity and sell it back to their utility. As the bill moves to the Senate, ELAW will be working to bring home lessons learned in Europe and make sure Oregon creates a strong pilot project, modeled on Germany’s successful renewable energy program.

1 comment

Way to go Jen and Jolene! I hope we can see affordable Solar Panels over Oregonians rooftops soon. We are looking close from Chile, to implement similar measures that can help us be sustainable in the solution of our Energy necessities. Thanks for all your help and for your strong commitment with distributed renewables in Oregon and the rest of the world.